ok, <bump> do other people agree? disagree? is this even possible with the current software?
I don't like when threads drop to the next page, so I'd like the option of at least making that window bigger...if at least for me

The number has traditionally always been 40 posts per page here on AI (at least for as far back as I can remember) and was something I always preferred to MacNN's forum which has 50 per page. I know it sounds like a small difference, but I vote to stay our traditional 40 per page.

A) read through a boatload of vB's code.
B) figure out how to hack the code and modify it to allow users to control this kind of feature of an individual basis
C) write new templates for the new code I would have written in B
D) pray to god/jesus/allah/buddha/{insert diety here} that my very dirty hack doesn't completely destroy the user database

B would, of course, take an enormous amount of time, far more time than I would want to spend even if I didn't have to attend class or eat or sleep.

There is no simple toggle for this "feature". That's all there is to it. Users can set the number of posts per page of a thread but not the number of threads per page of a forum.